Several years ago, TaxAct was the first company to offer free federal (1040) and state filing. That product now has a price tag, but TaxAct Express is a free mobile tax app designed for taxpayers who need to file a 1040EZ (W-2 income). It's disappointing that this free tax pioneer offers such a disappointing free mobile tax preparation app, with minimal help resources, some glitches in our testing, and an incomplete roster of state versions.

Available for both Android and iOS devices (I tested both versions), the apps are sensibly named TaxAct Express on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. This is not the case with the other apps I reviewed this year, each of which has different names in the two app stores, with neither name corresponding to the actual name of the service.

TaxAct Express is joined by three browser-based personal tax preparation solutions: TaxAct Online Free (1040A and 1040EZ), TaxAct Online Plus ($27 federal, $33 state; supports itemizing, investing, and home ownership), and TaxAct Online Premium ($37 federal, $33 state; adds preparation and filing tools for self-employed, freelancers, and contractors), which won an Editors' Choice this year for doing your taxes on a budget.

Easy Start

The first thing to as you prepare your 2016 taxes (the ones you must file in 2017) is to organize your tax documents. You will definitely want to do this as early in the process as possible. If you wait until close to the deadline (which is April 18 for your 2016 taxes), you risk a serious problem if there's an issue with one or more of the documents you need. If for some reason you do procrastinate, however, (and we've all been there) PCMag does offer some excellent tax tips for last-minute e-filers.

TaxAct Express only supports the 1040EZ form. TaxSlayer Simply Free has the same limitation, but it provides a much better user experience than TaxAct does. TurboTax Absolute Zero adds the 1040A to its free version, and H&R Block More Zero also supports the 1040A and the Schedule A.

TaxAct asks questions early on about your financial life and lets you proceed to the app if you qualify for free tax preparation. Otherwise, you're directed to the browser-based versions. TurboTax Absolute Zero and H&R Block More Zero take a different approach here: They make all tax topics available and let you select the ones you need, but you're only for the premium forms and schedules you complete.

You create an account in TaxAct Express by entering a user name and password. The app's sign-on security is tighter than that of its competitors. Each time you log in, you must click a button to prove that you're not a robot, and then select the squares in a picture that contain street signs or storefronts, for example. It's not a bad idea for a mobile app that contains sensitive personal information.

Next, you move on to screens where you supply names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, etc. before getting to the main event: your W-2. You can either snap a photo of your W-2 and have the app import those numbers onto the correct lines, or you can enter them manually. When you've finished, you'll have a chance to verify the information, and then go through a series of yes-or-no questions (legally blind, disabled, married, etc.). You click the correct answer and are automatically advanced to the next screen.

TaxAct Express worked fine on an iPhone 5 and Android, but I ran into some operational glitches when I tried to complete a return on an iPhone 6+. The company was made aware of these problems, and had not received similar complaints from other users.

Multiple Security Levels

Before you move on to more questions, TaxAct Express requires that you re-enter your Social Security number(s). This is an added safety precaution, one of a handful that may annoy you because of the extra steps, but which adds to the app's multiple attempts to keep your data safe. No competitor is as fastidious, though each has its own security features. Tax identity theft is a serious problem, and TaxAct is smart to go out of its way to prevent it.

If you paid student loan interest in 2016, you'll enter that total on the next screen, and then continue on to answer standard questions about your health insurance coverage. On screens where you're not automatically advanced by clicking on a response, you'll use the Continue button and back arrow to move forward and back.

Minimal Navigation Tools

TaxAct Express doesn't support swiping for navigation like TurboTax Absolute Zero does. Its only other navigation tool is a button at the top of the screen that opens a page displaying your current refund or obligation, as well as links to the beginnings of the app's main sections (W-2, Federal, State, and Filing). You can also access your settings from here, which includes using the iPhone's Touch ID as a part of your login.

Navigation worked fine for the most part when I went directly through the app's screens. But it seemed like I had to unnecessarily repeat some screens when I went backward to check something. And in some places the navigation wasn't overly obvious. I wanted to edit a W-2 entry and didn't know I could just click on it because there were no distinctive markings like underlining, so it looked just like data that couldn't be edited. TaxAct Express is also weak when it comes to help: There's only a smattering of context-sensitive FAQs. H&R Block More Zero is flush with Q&As and other help articles.

Wrapping Up Your Taxes

The next screen contains a summary of the numbers you've entered so far (income, deductions, etc.) and gives you the option to continue or review your answers, editing if necessary. Then it's on to your state return if you have to file one, and if TaxAct Express supports it yet (many were missing at this writing). Before it displays a summary of your state-related entries, the app transfers applicable information to your state return and then may ask you a series of additional questions, as it did when I prepared a California return.

Like its mobile competitors and browser-based counterparts, TaxAct Express reviews your return before you move on to filing and points out what may be errors or omissions. In my case, I hadn't entered state wages on my W-2, a mistake for which the app didn't offer an easy fix. I was just told to return to the Federal Q&A to add it. Once I corrected the issue, I was told that I had five minutes to complete the filing process for security reasons. That's another example of the app's attention to safety.

Overall, TaxAct Express is less capable in every way than H&R Block More Zero, our Editors' Choice for free smartphone-based personal tax preparation. It also lacks the superior user experience, the always-there help, and the support for IRS forms and schedules that More Zero offers. I'd give this app another year to mature. Yes, it does offer the tightest security of any of the free mobile tax apps I reviewed this year, but that just isn't a big enough plus to outweigh the other negatives for TaxAct Express.

About the Author

Kathy Yakal has been annoying computer magazine editors since 1983, when she got her first technology writing job because she tagged along with her ex-husband on a job interview. She started freelancing and specializing in financial applications when PCs became financial tools for consumers and small businesses (after a stint at a high-end accounti... See Full Bio

TaxAct Express 2017 (Tax Year 2016)

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